What does a promotion look like from the other side of the offer?
For an organisation, it may represent recognition, growth and an opportunity to retain a talented employee. For the woman considering it, the questions can be more personal: What support will I have? What will this role demand? Can I see myself doing it while making space for the other parts of my life?
During my conversation on Goeiemôre, Good Morning, we explored why women may reconsider climbing the corporate ladder, and what this asks of organisations that want to retain and develop their talent.
My starting point is this: before drawing conclusions about a woman’s ambition, we need to understand the conditions surrounding her decision.
Look beyond the development programme
Leadership development has an important role to play. It can help women build confidence, strengthen their skills and prepare for greater responsibility. But preparation is only part of the picture.
Organisations also need to examine how opportunities actually reach people. Who gets the challenging assignment? Who has access to senior decision makers? Whose contribution is noticed? Whose name comes up when a leadership position becomes available?
A development programme can prepare someone to step forward. The organisation’s everyday decisions determine whether there is a clear path for her to do so.
Mentorship prepares. Sponsorship opens doors.
One distinction we explored in the interview was the difference between mentorship and sponsorship.
A mentor shares experience, offers guidance and helps someone prepare for the next step. They might help a woman navigate conflict, build her confidence or learn from challenges they have faced themselves.
A sponsor actively advocates for her. They put her name forward for an opportunity, introduce her to influential colleagues and speak about her readiness in conversations she may never be invited to attend.
Both matter. Yet organisations can spend considerable energy preparing women for leadership without giving equal attention to who is opening doors for them.
For senior leaders, a useful reflection is: Whose development am I supporting, and whose progress am I actively advocating for?
Make leadership a role people can imagine sustaining
People learn what leadership means by watching the leaders around them.
If they see constant availability, relentless pressure and little room to pause or recover, they also see the personal cost attached to progression. The role may look impressive on paper while feeling difficult to sustain in practice.
A talented woman considering that role may be confident in her ability to do the work. Her hesitation may concern how that work would fit into her life.
Leaders therefore need to consider the example they set. Can they acknowledge that they need a break? Do they make room for recovery? What do their calendars, expectations and everyday behaviour communicate about success?
Consider the responsibilities beyond the office
In our conversation, we also explored the practical realities of caring for children, supporting ageing parents, arranging appointments and managing family commitments alongside a career.
These responsibilities shape decisions about travel, working hours and availability. An additional commute or a recurring meeting after hours can have a significant effect on whether a role feels manageable.
This is why flexibility deserves careful consideration when designing leadership roles. Organisations need to examine where, when and how work needs to happen, and where there is room to adapt.
The answers will differ across teams and businesses. Finding workable arrangements starts with understanding the people doing the work.
Start the conversation before the promotion
Meaningful change begins well before an offer is made.
It begins with open conversations about career aspirations, access to opportunities and the support someone needs to take on greater responsibility. It also requires a willingness to act on what those conversations reveal.
Ask the women in your organisation what would make progression more achievable. Listen to their experience of how projects are allocated, how potential is recognised and how leadership expectations affect their choices.
Then look at what needs to change in your own environment. Another course may help. So might a sponsor, a different working arrangement or a fairer way of allocating opportunities.
What would need to change for the talented women in your organisation to see their next leadership role as a step they want to take?
Adapted from Anja van Beek’s interview on Goeiemôre, Good Morning. Watch the conversation on YouTube, with the interview beginning at approximately 9 minutes.
